An Amazing OneShot
by SanctumAsylum
Summary: A quick little one-shot featuring the behind-the-stage after the Angel's Maneuver's first performance has been completed. Focusing on that almost-kiss. *Descriptive Summary inside.


A/N: So, I wrote this a year ago and finally decided to post it. It's for my enjoyment, but I figured I'll let ya'll have a peek ;). Just a quick little one-shot of what happened following immediately after the angel's maneuver performance, behind stage. As usual, I can't make you R&R, but I ask that you do to feed this beast. Thanks.

Summary: _The spunky and thoughtful Sora Naegino finally has her life figured out. She's made it on the fast lane to stardom with the Angel's Maneuver completed and now has a solid dream worth aiming for. But when she goes to talk to Leon, he tells her there was a discrepancy in her performance! Oh what, oh what could it possibly be?_

_Dislaimer: I own nothing except this story written by yours truly. _

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Stage lights dangled below his feet, casting their brilliant glow on the seats below; the light always seemingly just beyond his grasp. Even now, he sat in the shadow of darkness which filled the upper dome in emptiness. It comforted him; the solitary moments. He felt more at ease with himself; no acts had to be displayed, no walls had to be built. Up here, a man could simply be what he always wanted to be:

A man.

On stage, there was a fair amount of acting involved in order to engage the audience. A smile, a caress, even a glare had to be fixated to be justified on stage. Only this time was different, he mused. This time his actions were drawn out, almost methodically. This time his expressions were real, they meant something. He hadn't needed to walk himself through the emotions of the play; because he _felt_ them.

Even now, he was in utter shock; disbelieving every instant which had happened only moments ago and was promised to happen again later this evening. Maybe a second time around would confirm his doubts or maybe they would just let him down and he would find: there was nothing there. That all along he had been tricked, deceived by his own imaginations. Mislead by a discovery of hope he foolishly found in her.

A creak echoed around him, a telltale sign that the door nearest him had opened. A line of light illuminated the shadowy depths of his loneliness and in the rectangular shape appeared the form of a person.

"Oh!"

Now he knew who it was without having to busy himself with looking. Leon waited for her to close the door so that he could see her the minute his eyes laid upon her. They were already trained to the darkness, if he looked in the light it would be blinding.

"Yuri told me I might find you here."Her voice wavered either from impatience or unease. He'd guess the latter.

The door sounded close with a whirr-click and Leon turned his icy blue gaze upon Sora.

She jumped "I'm sorry! Was I not supposed to know? I can leave if you want, it's really okay with me, I mean I don't mind getting out of your way!"

"No." he interrupted before she could continue yammering "It is fine."

Sora sighed relief as she hopped on to the lighting beams and tip-toed her way towards him. When she attained his position she sat beside him, her arms reaching to each side steadily grasping the metal beams and her feet swaying childishly back and forth.

She was so much happier than she ever thought she could have been. A stage with no competition was still a far-fetched dream, but now it didn't seem so crazy. Everyone had joined together, become one, with her on stage. It was hard to contain the smile that spread widely across her face.

But when she was with the others celebrating, something was missing. Mia, Anna, Rosetta, Marion, Sarah, Yuri, Ken, Kalos, and Miss Layla were there! The whole cast was there! Even those that had come from circus' she volunteered at were there! She was so happy to see them all! Yet when she looked around, she felt empty.

Her friends, her family were all with her, so what was it she was missing?

Yuri must have seen her fretting and thought she was looking for Leon. So he directed her to the lighting beams and said he often inspected the trapeze up there. Sora wasn't sure she was looking for him, but when Yuri pointed out he was missing she just had to go and haul him back with her.

There was no reason to be sitting alone when he could be with friends.

"You are happy now?"

"Huh!" Sora snapped out of the trance silence brought her. She just couldn't seem to focus on anything today. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you."

"You are happy now? Now, that you have achieved your goal."

"My goal…"

"…a stage without competition."

Sora smiled, her gaze focused and relaxed on the stage below. "But I haven't. Not completely. You see, there's always going to be competition and I just have to be able to face it head on. But I can do that now, knowing that I can also bring out peoples angel hearts. Still, it'd be nice if there were no competition on the stage, at least when we're performing."

"Angel hearts?" his brow slightly raised.

"Yes. Everyone has a moment they love, a place in time that they miss and wish they could bring back. And I can do that. By performing on stage I can help them remember those days! And they can move on to create new ones! Maybe even with _us_!" she eagerly smiled at him, her arms raised, hands clenched in to determined fists. Then she remembered who she was with and her arms dropped. Sora laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "It's silly, isn't it?"

"It sounds it."

"Doh!"

"But…I believe if anyone has a chance at making that happen, it is you."

Sora looked up and giggled "Yeah, you're right!"

He leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Um…so why do you come up here anyway?" she paused "Uh…not to say that it's bad or anything! I was just curious and I didn't want you to feel left out because I came to tell you that we were celebrating the success of our first show! I was hoping you'd come and…"

"Sora…"

"Yes!"

"I come up here to be alone so I can think clearly. But often I come up here searching for answers. It would seem all my questions have been answered…however the performance this morning raised a new one."

"An answer? For what?"

He turned his gaze upon her again. Chills caressed her spine as her body shook with a shiver. But she wasn't shivering because she was scared. Something in his cold eyes had changed; suddenly they weren't so cold anymore.

"On stage, I am also a performer, Sora. Yet I could not control my emotions, unlike many times before. When I am on stage with you, especially now, I feel unbelievably free. With May it was much more contained. Perhaps, you could say, that is my angel heart on my sleeve."

The light of hope gleamed in Sora's eyes "So then…my performance wasn't bad!"

While Leon wasn't one too fond of May, he figured she did have a point on that "dense" idea. "It was…acceptable." He smirked when he saw her shoulders slump out of the corner of his eye. "I have only one complaint."

"Tell me!" she jumped up, situated on her knees now, her hands gripped tightly as if in prayer "Please, please tell me what I did wrong! I want to improve and be the best I can!"

Leon chuckled, patted her head and stood. He was walking away from her.

Sora immediately got up, faltering a bit before catching herself and chasing after him. "Leon!"

"The only complaint I have…" he started as he moved to the door "…is on your method of acting."

Acting! She thought furiously. None of what she had done was acting! She _felt_ those emotions! The audience's emotions! All that was _real!_

He was staring at the door knob in a serious manner. It was like all those other times he was disappointed in her or had expected more. Suddenly, Sora feared the answer. She almost didn't want to know. But she needed to! Mistakes were no option!

"Tell me, please! I can handle it!" she stormed up behind him, determined to face him straight on.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

In the blink of an eye Leon spun around, his hand gripping her chin and pulling it towards him. He tipped in close. So close, she thought. Sora could see specks of a darker shade of blue in his eyes with how near they were. _Is he going to kiss me? No! No! No! Not Leon! He would never think of such a thing, but why is his head getting closer!_

"When you go to kiss someone…" his voice was husky, his breath warm on her skin.

Sora stood rigid, frozen in his grasp. "L-L-Leon!" she stammered, but he wasn't listening. His eyes gently closed as he leaned in a bit more.

She was going to fight; to jump away from him in a second! And then her performance flashed before her eyes.

Even then, she thought, I considered kissing him.

Sora closed her eyes, her lips parted. She was startled to know that she anticipated the kiss, _wanted_ the kiss. No one made her feel this way. So why did she feel so vulnerable around him?

"..you lean in close…"

A demon, they had called him. Perhaps a demon could put people under spells because Sora certainly felt like she was being charmed. Her eyelids were heavy, even her legs felt heavy, she felt so helpless she reached up to grab his arms to stop from falling, but her hands only caught air. Was he gone?

Reluctantly her eyes opened, revealing his retreating form. "…and refuse to pull away. Next time, Sora Naegino, if you lean in for a kiss, you execute the kiss. Otherwise you shall live to regret it."

The door slammed after he smoothly slid behind it, leaving her in her own silence and darkness.

"Um…What just happened!"

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Told you it was quick. Now review! The beast grows ravenous!


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